‘Zanu
PF will sink without Mugabe’

ZANU PF senior politburo member and chief negotiator in talks with
the MDC movements, Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa (pictured right), says
his party cannot afford to substitute President Robert Mugabe in the next
crucial elections, as pressure mounts for the veteran ruler to quit in
December.Chinamasa’s remarks in an interview with the Zimbabwe
Independent in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was attending the United
Nations Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review, are likely to fuel
controversy within Zanu PF, already rocked by divisions over the
issue.

In a cautionary move, Chinamasa, who was part of the
Emmerson Mnangagwa-led faction which tried to stage a palace coup in Zanu PF
before its 2004 congress, said Zanu PF could ill-afford to replace Mugabe
now. He likened attempts to replace Mugabe to efforts to change a ship’s
captain in the middle of a storm.

“First of all I would like to
say the issue of the candidacy of President Mugabe is an internal matter —
it should not concern outsiders. But where we stand now the president is our
candidate for future elections,” Chinamasa said.

“The president
has indicated the next conference, in Bulawayo, would be a mini-congress
where we will confirm him as candidate. It’s an internal matter but we will
put our best foot forward and President Mugabe is our best foot. We can’t
change the captain in the midst of a storm.”

Chinamasa’s remarks,
which apparently reflect the position of the Mnangagwa faction, could help
Mugabe in his bid to ride the storm during the potentially explosive
Bulawayo conference which would be “just as good as (a) congress”. Those
close to Mugabe, including Zanu PF insiders, say his real game plan is to
die in office, not to retire.

Zanu PF infighting over the Mugabe
candidacy is intensifying ahead of the party’s annual conference in Bulawayo
from December 6-10. Although conference can endorse Mugabe as a candidate,
pressure has been brought to bear on him to accept the possibility of being
replaced, hence his admission the gathering would be more like a congress,
although he wants a stronger mandate from it.

Mugabe was in 2007
forced to hold an extraordinary congress before the 2008 elections by senior
party officials who wanted to replace him as candidate but he managed to
cling on with help from the Mnangagwa faction which had burnt its fingers
three years earlier. The camp led by the late retired army commander General
Solomon Mujuru desperately wanted Mugabe to go.

Asked if it was not
in the interest of Zanu PF to field a relatively younger and fresh candidate
in the next elections, Chinamasa insisted: “We will not change the captain
when the ship is under threat of being ship-wrecked.”

Chinamasa
suggested it would be suicidal for Zanu PF to replace Mugabe when the party
was facing the danger of running aground. Mugabe himself has said Zanu PF
will disintegrate like other former liberation movements in the region if he
goes.

On why Zanu PF officials seemed afraid of leadership renewal,
Chinamasa said: “The politburo is an open forum. Colleagues who want to
raise the issue (of Mugabe’s succession) are free to do so. Why do they only
raise it with you in the media? Debate is not suppressed in the
politburo.”Chinamasa said there was gradual leadership renewal at the
politburo level of Zanu PF.

“The majority of members of the
politburo are young people. They are people, for instance, who have nothing
to do with Dare reChimurenga (Zanu PF’s War Council during the struggle for
liberation). Some of them were not even connected with the liberation
struggle. They may not be the kind of youths that you want but they are
there. That’s leadership renewal,” he said.

“In the party we have
opportunities to raise issues like succession and corruption but in the case
of corruption you need evidence before you talk about it.”Zanu PF
politburo member Jonathan Moyo recently raised the issue of leadership
renewal, elections and Mugabe’s candidacy in 2013 and corruption, among
other things, in the state-controlled Sunday Mail, capturing the raging
argument that Mugabe could not realistically be a candidate in
2013.

Zanu PF is currently divided on whether to endorse Mugabe as a
candidate in the next elections or not. While some think Mugabe is the only
viable candidate for the party, others say it would not be practical or
reasonable, to field him, especially if the elections are held in 2013 when
he is 89 and also ailing. Mugabe recently said he has no control over when
the polls would be held as that would be determined by Global Political
Agreement (GPA) processes.

A GPA roadmap is being worked out to
provide signposts to the next elections.

Chinamasa said he stood
by his opinion that elections are likely to be held next year and possibly
in 2013.“I’m not changing anything. Initially I said elections could be held
next year or possibly in 2013. I believe this is still the situation that
elections could be held next year. I mentioned 2013 as a possibility,” he
said.

The Zanu PF politburo, which wanted elections this year
when Mugabe is still able to campaign efficiently although it was divided on
that, reacted angrily recently to Chinamasa’s remarks and basically telling
him to shut up.

Chinamasa had initially said: “We need to start
talking about elections next year or 2013, assuming that the
(constitutional) referendum is held in September as we have been advised. It
is my own opinion that it is not possible to hold elections this
year.”

Recent WikiLeaks disclosures show most senior Zanu PF
officials want Mugabe to go and this position had been there for the past
decade having been initially spearheaded by the late Eddison Zvobgo and his
allies who wanted to “form a party within a party” to remove their
leader.

Due to internal strife and the state of the economy, Mugabe
lost the first round of the 2008 elections to Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai of the MDC-T, before storming back through a campaign of violence
and brutality.

(NB: the Independent will carry a full interview with
Chinamasa next week.)

High
Court orders by-elections in 14 days

THE High Court in Bulawayo has ordered
President Mugabe to call for by-elections in three vacant constituencies in
Matabeleland within 14 days.Justice Nicholas Ndou ordered Mugabe to proclaim
by-election dates 14 days after being served with the judgment, but the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has pleaded bankruptcy.“I hereby order
that President Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to announce
elections dates in Lupane East, Nkayi South and Bulilima East in a period
within 14 days,” Ndou said in his ruling.

The three seats
fell vacant after Welshman Ncube’s MDC expelled Abdenico Bhebhe of Nkayi
South, Njabuliso Mguni of Lupane East and Norman Mpofu of Bulilima East for
aligning themselves with the MDC-T. Bhebhe is now the MDC-T deputy
organising secretary.

The trio’s lawyer Matshobana Ncube said he
would send the judgment to Attorney-General Johannes Tomana’s office on
Friday after which they would wait for the by-election dates to be announced
within 14 days.

“The by-election dates will be proclaimed after we
serve Mugabe’s lawyer, who is the Attorney-General, with the judgment,” he
said.Ndou said the AG’s office had earlier this year asked for two months
before the by-elections because there was general talk of possible elections
this year, and hence they would be overtaken by events.

But
nothing happened and the two months the AG’s office had asked for lapsed
meaning Mugabe was in breach of Section 39 (2) of the Electoral Act which
states that after being notified by the Speaker of parliament about a vacant
seat, he has to gazette by-election dates.

Ndou ruled that he was
at liberty to make a ruling that Mugabe had to comply with Section 39 (2) of
the Electoral Act so that he gazettes dates for the by-elections as sought
by the three former legislators since the AG had not communicated after the
expiry of the two months he had asked for.

ZEC chairman Simpson
Mutambanengwe yesterday said although the High Court had ordered the
by-elections, the electoral body was broke and could not finance any poll
this year.

“There is no money for by-elections,” said Mutambanengwe.
“We know the former MPs have been going to court, but the issue is that even
if the court orders elections (to be held), we simply don’t have the money,”
he said.

Ever since the inception of the coalition government in
2009, 18 parliamentary seats have fallen vacant because of various reasons,
which include death and expulsions.

Bhebhe and Mpofu were not in
court. Mguni, who was present, hailed the outcome as a landmark ruling which
would give the people of Lupane East, Nkayi South and Bulilima East a chance
to elect their preferred representatives in parliament.

“Mugabe
has to do what he has to do so that people go for by-elections,” said Mguni.
“We are more than ready to reclaim our seats in parliament, regardless of
the fact that Welshman Ncube has tried to kill our political
careers.”Mguni has since re-joined the MDC-T.

SAA
capitalises on AirZim’s woes

SOUTH African Airways has increased its seating capacity on the
Johannesburg-Harare route through the introduction of the Airbus 330-200.
SAA, which recently reduced its airfares for eight destinations, including
the Harare Johannesburg route as a way of consolidating its market share in
Zimbabwe, is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the operational problems at
Air Zimbabwe.

At the launch of the A330-200 at Harare
International Airport yesterday, SAA country manager for Zimbabwe Winnie
Mudariki said there had been great demand on the Harare-Johannesburg route
and the new aircraft will provide efficiencies to support the airline’s
profitability and growth strategies.

She said the new airbus has a
seating capacity of 253 passengers compared to 157 on the A 319. The new
plane seats 36 passengers in business class and 186 in
economy.

SAA flights have now increased to 21 a week from 14,
while flights on the Victoria Falls route were 7 weekly.Director of
transport in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Allowance Sango,
concurred with Mudariki that there had been a gradual increase in demand on
the route.

He noted that last year, SAA seats had started off at 3
920 per week, risen to 4 390 and ended the year in December at 5 264. This
year, seats had increased to 5 394. Demand on the Vic Falls route had also
increased to 1 680 seats from December’s 1 162.

The move to
introduce the larger airbus comes after a number of airlines have expressed
interest to service the Zimbabwe route. Emirates airline, which will ply
the Zimbabwe-Zambia-Dubai route next year, will also operate an A330-200
aircraft.

South Africa’s ambassador to Zimbabwe Vusi Mavimbela
acknowledged the competitiveness of the environment but said that the launch
indicates that SAA is riding the storm of the economic crisis when other
airlines are cutting back.

He said that Zimbabwe will play a
crucial role in the development of the region in future, and as such, its
transport infrastructure needed to improve.

Parties
adopt draft constitution framework

THE three coalition government partners, Zanu PF
and the two MDC formations, have adopted a preliminary draft constitutional
framework that can be used in drafting the country’s new supreme law.
According to co-chairperson of the Constitution Select Committee (Copac)
Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, Zanu PF came up with the framework and the MDC
formations adopted it with improvements at a meeting held on
Monday.

“The framework was adopted on Monday by the select
committee,” said Mangwana. “Guided by views that came out of the outreach
meetings, we focused on the elements of what came out. Now that the
framework is done, we will look at the principles which will be allocated to
various chapters at a workshop next week. When we have agreed on the
framework, we will give it to the drafters,” he said.

However,
MDC-T’s co-chairperson of Copac Douglas Mwonzora said the Zanu PF document
was rejected at Monday’s meeting but they had still managed to come up with
a preliminary draft framework.

“That (Zanu PF) document was rejected
and a proper framework was debated and adopted,” said Mwonzora. “It was
rejected on the basis that it did not relate to what came out from the
people,” he said.

The Zimbabwe Independent is in possession of the
adopted preliminary draft framework and the document Zanu PF presented to
Copac, as well as another Zanu PF document outlining its position on certain
issues.

While Zanu PF is pushing for a provision prohibiting
homosexuality and same sex marriage, Copac officials who attended the
meeting said that position was rejected.

“It is a non-issue and
it will not be included in the constitution,” said a Copac official. “There
is no need to put it as a provision because it is generally unacceptable in
Zimbabwe.”

Part of the Zanu PF document reads: “No to homosexuality
and same sex marriages. The dominant view is that this practice must not be
allowed and consequently is derogation from the Bill of
Rights.”

Other sections excluded in the final framework that Zanu PF
wanted to stand as chapter headings were the land issue and indigenisation
and economic empowerment.

Under Chapter V of the Zanu PF document
titled Land, Environment and Natural Resources, land should belong to the
state and land reform should continue until all colonial injustices
concerning land were removed. It also said no title deeds should be issued
for agricultural land.

It suggested that there be 99-year leases on
agricultural land, equitable distribution of land, a land commission and no
to multiple farm ownership.On indigenisation and economic empowerment, the
document said there should be affirmative action and indigenisation and
empowerment of local communities.

The Zanu PF draft framework
also suggested that there be an executive president and two vice presidents
–– a matter which is still under debate.On electoral system and process, the
party’s dominant view favoured a hybrid system comprising first
past-the-post system as well as proportional representation.

It
suggested that the number of constituencies remain at 210 and 93
senators.

Without specifying who appoints the judiciary, the
document said it should be independent and their appointment be approved by
senate.It said the predominant view was that Zimbabwe is a unitary state
with devolved power to provinces and local governments.

A note on
devolution read: “The dominant view is that provincial councils and local
governments should have sufficient devolved power to enable them to engage
in development within their areas of jurisdiction. In particular, provincial
governors should have budgets independent of ministries of national
government which enable them to fund provincial development programmes and
facilitate easy access to services.”

Meanwhile, the agreed
preliminary draft framework has included a provision for a national
prosecuting authority and chapters that deal with the intelligence service
and a national security council.

“In the preliminary framework, there
will now be a provision that deals with the intelligence service and the
National Security Council so that we deal with Joint Operations Command
(Joc),” said a Copac official.

Joc is presently made up of all the
army generals, police commissioner, prison services chief, the Central
Intelligence Organisation director-general and the Ministers of Defence and
State Security.

Under the Global Political Agreement, Joc should have
been disbanded and replaced by the National Security Council. It still
remains one of the outstanding issues in the GPA because Zanu PF vowed not
to dismantle it.

Joc was reportedly behind the bloody presidential
poll run-off in 2008 which saw President Robert Mugabe contesting alone
after the MDC-T’s Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out protesting the prevailing
wanton intimidation, violence and bloodletting which characterised the
campaign.The two MDC formations have been calling for legislation to guide
operations of the CIO, which is allocated a lot of state resources, but has
no legal checks and balances controlling its operations, and is also housed
in the office of the president.

The three parties have proposed
commissions which would deal with elections, human rights and social
justice, anti-corruption and public accountability, media and
telecommunications, environment and natural resources as well as gender
matters.

Drafting of the new constitution, which would be done by
Botswana High Court Judge Justice Moses Chinhengo, and lawyers Priscilla
Madzonga and Brian Crozier, was due to start next week, but is now only
scheduled to begin after the three parties agree on the principles and
content to be embraced by the new constitution.

Constitutional
lawyer Professor Lovemore Madhuku said: “Drafters are just technical people
who will not have a significant input on the content. This is a party driven
process –– the content will be determined by the political parties.”

MDC-T
threatens to boycott sham election

THE MDC-T national executive council on
Wednesday threatened to boycott next year’s elections if Zanu PF
unilaterally calls for the poll without fulfillment of all conditions
stipulated in the 2008 Sadc-facilitated GPA. The GPA calls for reforms in
the media, electoral laws and the re-staffing of the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission secretariat.The MDC-T resolved that any unilateral poll without
implementation of the reforms would be a sham and produce contestable
results.

“The party notes that any election which does not meet the
above conditions will be a sham election and the party will not have
anything to do with a sham election,” the Nec statement said.

The
meeting came on the heels of President Robert Mugabe telling the Zanu PF
central committee last week that his party should gear itself for general
elections early next year since the inclusive government had become
dysfunctional.

The MDC-T listed eight issues it claimed were key
to holding any credible polls in the country after the disputed 2008
presidential election which eventually forced the country to assemble a
coalition government.

Among other conditions set by the MDC-T are the
“completion of the constitution-making process and the referendum,
completion of the drafting of a new voters’ roll, completion of the
legislative reform and conclusion of the outstanding issues on security
sector reforms.

The MDC-T further demanded that “Zimbabwe should
comply with Sadc electoral guidelines on free and fair elections and the
putting in place of mechanisms to ensure that violence will not be a factor
in the said election”.

Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa this week
in Geneva at the United Nations Human Rights Council’s periodic review ruled
out security sector reform.Chinamasa said: “On security sector reform,
Zimbabwe will not even entertain the recommendation. Reform for who? For
what? How dare they recommend that to those who fought against colonialism
and all its ugliness, ie racism, injustices, discrimination, oppression,
torture, exploitation and total dehumanisation should go. Where? We will not
be complacent and allow the creeping in of neo-colonialism! We know how much
they respect and venerate their war veterans including reserving a day in
their honour.”

However, Mugabe and Zanu PF argue that the only
outstanding matters in the GPA is the completion of the
constitution-drafting process and referendum.“Elections should come soon now
that we have documents coming out,” Mugabe told a Zanu PF central committee
meeting last week.“The reality of an election is looming and we begin to see
panic in our opposition. Definitely we should have elections next
year.”

Zanu PF has even instructed its MPs not to debate any
legislative reforms sponsored by the MDC-T, such as Innocent Gonese’s Posa
Amendment Bill, currently in the senate.

Zanu PF senators on
Tuesday categorically stated that they were not going to debate Posa against
the wishes of their principals.

Senator Alice Chimbudzi of Mount
Darwin echoed these sentiments when she said: “Chinamasa (Patrick) was clear
that we should stay away from debating this Bill. This is the first time we
are debating a Private Member’s Bill. On our side as Zanu PF we have been
instructed not to debate.”

On the other hand the MDC-T threatened
to block the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) Bill and the Electoral
Act Amendment Bill if Chinamasa continued to steer them without taking into
account the party’s concerns.

The MDC-T is against the clause in the
ZHRC Bill prohibiting the commission from investigating cases of human
rights violations which occurred before February 2009, and allows the
minister to conceal certain information received from the commission before
presenting the annual report.

The party is also against the Electoral
Act Amendment Bill which proposes to create polling station-specific voters’
roll in the face of election violence in the country.

Bulawayo
rates soar

BULAWAYO residents will pay more in rates as council increases
the 2012 budget from US$102 million to US$122 million amid revelations that
councillors would reject the budget since only nine consultative meetings
were held out of 29 wards. According to the budget, which is yet to be
unveiled but seen by the Zimbabwe Independent, council is proposing a US$122
million budget which would have to be approved by Local Government minister
Ignatius Chombo first before it can be implemented.

Of the US$122
million, council is budgeting US$69 012 764 for salaries and allowances,
representing 56% of the budget, while general expenses would gobble up US$47
716 989, which translates to 39%. Repairs and maintenance will take 15% of
the budget or US$18 197 182 and capital charges will chew US$11 481 499 or
9%.

The 2012 budget will see residents in high density suburbs, such
as Makokoba, paying US$22,32, up from US$12,62 in rates, while those in
Lobengula will part with US$23,16 from US$12,21. Those living in Morningside
will pay US$62,97, up from US$42,11.

Ratepayers in Ilanda will
pay US$80,35 from US$29,95 and those in the affluent suburb of Selborne Park
will have their rates reviewed from US$29,31.Council would collect most
of its revenue from rates and supplementary charges amounting to US$47 893
219 while licences and fees are expected to amount to US$11 108 305 and rent
will pour US$2 027 288 into council coffers. Council rates will increase
with effect from January 1 2012 while supplementary charges for high density
suburbs can only be reviewed after Chombo approves the
budget.

Some councillors yesterday said they had declined to discuss
the budget at a joint Finance and Development Committee and the General
Purposes Committee meeting attended by city treasurer Kempton Ndimande and
Chamber secretary Sikhangele Zhou.

The councillors argued that
the budget could not be adopted at the Wednesday meeting because the local
authority had not called for an all-stakeholders meeting while ward
consultative meetings had not been completed. The city fathers then agreed
to hold consultative meetings this weekend after which a special council
meeting would be convened early next week to adopt the budget before it’s
submitted to Chombo before November 1.

“It’s also disappointing that
council management wants to hold consultative meetings when they have
finished crafting the budget,” said a senior councillor. “We need people’s
concerns to be addressed. But although the budget has been finalised, we
have to give residents a chance to give their input,” the councillor
said.

Council spokesperson Nesisa Mpofu said the budget consultations
were ongoing and would be completed this weekend. She could not further
discuss the issue.

But the proposed rates increase is likely to
be rejected by residents’ associations, which yesterday threatened to
mobilise residents to demonstrate against council.

The residents’
associations argue that ratepayers have been struggling to pay rates and
supplementary charges resulting in residents owing council over US$8
million. Council has been on a massive water disconnection exercise to push
residents to settle their bills.

Bulawayo Progressive Residents
Association spokesman Rodrick Fayayo condemned the proposed increase of
rates and supplementary budget saying thousands of workers in the city were
affected by the de-industrialisation of Bulawayo and could not afford to pay
the high charges.“We will mobilise residents to reject the budget and I know
we will do it overwhelmingly,” Fayayo said.

Bulawayo residents are
known for fierce protests, and have in the past successfully blocked the
Zimbabwe National Water Authority’s attempted take-over of the city’s water
reticulation.

Motion
to clip Chombo’s wings faces stiff resistance

MDC-T Buhera Central MP Tangwara Matimba’s
motion to clip Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo’s wings by amending
the Urban Councils’ Act as a Private Members Bill is likely to face stiff
resistance from Zanu PF which views it as an attack on the executive led by
President Robert Mugabe.

Matimba gave notice to the House on
Wednesday that he would move the motion to “amend the powers of central
government over municipalities especially interference by the minister who
dabbles in the day to day running of councils. In other words councils
should be semi-autonomous.”

This would be the second Private Member’s
Bill introduced by a backbencher after Innocent Gonese’s Bill to amend Posa.
Gonese’s bill has been gathering dust in the senate.

Matimba said
the amendments would also seek to deal with the issues of special interest
councillors and propose that councils be made up of only elected
councilors.

Chombo has in the past fired MDC elected mayors and
councils over flimsy charges and replaced them with commissions. In other
instances, he has appointed special interest councilors only answerable to
him.

Zanu PF MPs informally caucused at parliament soon after
Matimba’s notice to move the amendment arguing that it was an attack on the
coalition government, particularly on Mugabe.

“As a party, we
have to make sure that we block this attempt by the MDC to usurp the powers
of the executive to bring in Bills like what Gonese did,” said a Zanu PF MP.
“Let’s make sure that we attend parliament in our numbers to stop this when
Matimba begs leave to move the motion,” he said.

Matimba can only
move his Bill after receiving leave from the House since the Standing Rules
give preference to Bills from the executive.

Meanwhile, Zanu PF
senators have remained adamant that Gonese should shelve Posa amendments
since they were part of the GPA negotiations.Gonese’s amendments seek to
curtail the police’s excessive powers in determining the holding of public
political meetings.

Police have been accused of using excessive force
in blocking and breaking up rallies by other parties, as well as refusing to
grant them permission to hold public meetings even though the Act simply
requires them to be notified.

Political parties and civil society
argue that the law is selectively applied since no Zanu PF rallies have ever
been blocked in the past.On Tuesday Gonese was forced to defer debate on
restoration of the Bill to the senate order paper until Justice minister
Patrick Chinamasa returns to the country after Zanu PF senators said they
would not allow debate on it until Chinamasa gives the go
ahead.

“I think we have the legislature, the executive and the
judiciary but the executive is the supreme body of this country,” said
Senator Nachi Mandaba. “The negotiations were done by members of this
supreme body and we do not feel that we should be wasting our time to
negotiate,” Mandaba said.Ironically, Zanu PF MPS did not raise any
objections when the Bill sailed through the lower house last
December.

Zanu
PF succession hots up

THE Zanu PF succession race has gained traction with the two main
factions led by Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Defence minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa hitting the campaign trail ahead of the party’s national
conference set for December in Bulawayo. The conference is likely to endorse
President Robert Mugabe as Zanu PF’s presidential candidate for elections
the party is pushing for in 2012.

Although there is no doubt that
Mugabe’s candidacy will be confirmed, Mujuru and Mnangagwa’s arch rivalry is
likely to play out at the conference. In the past month, Mujuru and
Mnangagwa have held several rallies across the country in what party
insiders said was part of the ongoing power jostling.

The insiders
said Mujuru and Mnangagwa’s factions would now have to contend with an
emerging “third force” being referred to as the Generation 40 (G40), which
has been quietly positioning itself as an alternative to the tainted
rivals.

They said infighting was intensifying as it dawns on the
main factions that elections might be held in 2012 when Mugabe is still fit
to stand as a candidate.But if the polls are pushed to 2013 when they
are constitutionally due, Zanu PF officials said it would not be practical
or reasonable to field Mugabe as a candidate largely due to his old age and
ill-health.

The party’s plan is to secure victory using Mugabe, and
then press him to resign and hand over power to a successor.Zanu PF
officials pointed out that the succession debate could no longer remain a
taboo after US cables revealed that most senior party leaders wanted Mugabe
to go.

As the party’s secretary of legal affairs, Mnangagwa has been
crisscrossing the country spelling out to supporters Zanu PF’s new rules and
regulations on primary elections.

Some party officials said these
rallies were affording Mnangagwa an opportunity to reinvent himself and
showcase his leadership skills. They said this was also his chance to
present himself as presidential material.

While Mnangwagwa is using
his party position to campaign, Mujuru is riding on the sympathy factor
following the mysterious death of her husband, General Solomon Mujuru, at
his Beatrice farm. Mujuru is also showing that even without her husband, who
was the rallying pillar and key strategist in her camp, she has the courage
and conviction to stand up and fight for the top post.

Mujuru has
been convening several meetings thanking supporters for the sympathy and
support they offered her during her bereavement. She has also been meeting
farmers and businesspeople.

A party insider said: “It is interesting
to see how Mujuru and Mnangagwa are positioning themselves. You can see that
they are preparing us for a big fight. But the fight will only come when
Mugabe announces that he is retiring, hopefully after he secures victory for
the party. Mugabe is going to be the party candidate for the elections,
although many feel that the Bulawayo conference would have been a great
opportunity to usher in new leadership, but as you know, no one will dare
raise that issue, especially now when many have been exposed by WikiLeaks
cables.”

Another politburo official said there was a third force
known as the G40, who are preparing the ground for their
candidate.

“Don’t rule out (Saviour) Kasukuwere, who if he implements
the indigenisation and empowerment programme properly, will be a force to
reckon with,” said the official. “The programme has the potential to be
better than the land reform,” he said.

Zanu PF’s campaign
strategy has been to target traditional church sects, businesspeople, the
youth, women and urban dwellers in its bid to win the polls and break free
from the present coalition government and govern alone.

While its two
MDC coalition government partners continue to bicker about the election
roadmap, Zanu PF is already in full election mode. Officials said Zanu PF
was already clear on what strategies to employ to win the
elections.

To reclaim rural votes the party lost in the last
election, Kasukuwere has set up community trusts through which communities
in mining areas would benefit under the indigenisation and empowerment
process.

All mining entities are required by law to ensure that local
communities owned 10% of firms operating in their area.Targeting the
youth, the Indigenisation ministry has set up a youth development fund to
assist youths with viable project proposals.Through the party’s department
of indigenisation and economic empowerment and commissariat, Zanu PF is
organising youths and women’s groups to produce music.

One such
collaboration was witnessed last week when Diana Samkange launched a CD and
music video on indigenisation.To ensure that it maintained its support base
among farming communities, it has been distributing inputs and pushing
Finance minister Tendai Biti to disburse US$40 million to the Grain
Marketing Board (GMB) to pay farmers for produce delivered in the last
farming season.Mugabe portrayed the MDC-T as a party that was anti-farmers
last week.

“MDC-T stands for the opposite, we want resources to be in
the hands of our people, but no, says the MDC-T – they should not belong to
our people alone but to the Europeans and the Americans so they can give us
money,” said Mugabe.

“They are negatives, anti-people and puppets
of imperialists… the MDC-T has been showing a very negative view of the
African farmer, a very negative view of agriculture as if to say food and
agriculture products do not matter in our economy.”

Zanu PF also
plans to use the “luxurygate” scandal in which Biti released US$20 million
to buy top-of-the-range vehicles for ministers, which were the second lot
they received in their two-years in office.

MDC-T leader and Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s house scandal would be another trump card which
it wants to wave at the electorate. Tsvangirai stands accused of
misappropriating US$1,5 million in public funds meant to buy a state
residence for the premier.

Commonwealth
ready to accept reformed Zimbabwe

THE Commonwealth has said it looked forward
to Zimbabwe’s return to the club if the country meets certain benchmarks
which its leadership is fully aware of. Commonwealth Secretariat
spokesperson Manoah Esipisu told the Zimbabwe Independent that a report on
Zimbabwe titled “Zimbabwe: Routes to Progress” would be published when the
Commonwealth Heads of Government gather in Australia from October 28 to
30.

“We look forward to the time when Zimbabwe will return to the
Commonwealth family where it rightfully belongs,” said Esipisu. “The
leadership in Zimbabwe is aware of what needs to be done for their country
to return to the fold,” Esipisu said.

President Robert Mugabe
withdrew Zimbabwe from the 54-member club consisting of mainly former
British colonies in 2003 after the organisation suspended the country after
Mugabe’s re-election in polls observers said were rigged.

Mugabe
accused some countries of being “more equal than others”.

“If the
choice were made, one for us to lose our sovereignty and become a member of
the Commonwealth or remain with our sovereignty and lose the membership of
the Commonwealth, I would say let the Commonwealth go,” Mugabe said then
after he made energetic attempts to stay in.Esipisu said Sadc member states
continued to play a constructive part in bringing resolution and healing to
Zimbabwe.“The Commonwealth Organisations Committee on Zimbabwe has drawn
together civil society organisations and helped maintain links with the
people of Zimbabwe.”

Last week, a London-based think-tank, the
Commonwealth Advisory Bureau, suggested in its pre-summit briefing that the
club could offer help to Zimbabwe as a way of encouraging it to progress
toward democracy.

“There are plenty of things the Commonwealth could
do, if it so wished…It could, for instance, calibrate a reduction in
international sanctions against Zimbabwe to match progress towards democracy
and human rights, just as it did to match progress in the Codesa
negotiations in South Africa in the early 1990s,” said the
report.

However, David Howell, the British Foreign Office minister
responsible for relations with the Commonwealth, this week said the time was
not ripe for the Commonwealth to make a gesture to Zimbabwe.

“No
one is going to encourage, certainly Britain isn’t going to encourage, olive
branches or anything else to Mugabe who is showing no sign of recanting,
standing down or removing some of his Zanu PF thugs from the scene,” Howell
said.

“But I think the Commonwealth certainly sees itself — when the
time comes, which is not yet — also being a leading force in helping the
recovery of Zimbabwe, the restoration of credible and properly monitored
elections and the revival of its whole economy and its role in the world,”
he said.

Government
to issue Diaspora Bond

FINANCE minister Tendai Biti says government will issue another
Diaspora Bond after overwhelming success of US$50 million bond floated in
July.He said a follow-up instrument is being worked on and would be
announced in the 2012 national Budget. The idea of the Diaspora Bond was
mooted in 2009 in a bid to enlist the services of Zimbabweans to help
rebuild the economy.In his 2010 Budget, Biti announced the bond, which is a
co-operation between government, CBZ Bank, and underwritten by the by the
Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

However,
due to high interest shown in the Diaspora Bond, a second facility is on the
cards.

“We have begun putting together a framework for a follow up
bond but with a different creative name. We hope to announce it in the 2012
Budget,” said Biti.

A bond is a contract to repay
borrowed money with interest at fixed intervals.Diaspora bonds have
historically been crucial for raising development finance during times of
crisis in many developing countries particularly India and
Israel.

Records show that Israel has had yearly bond issues since
1951 and had raised US$25 billion by the end of 2007, while India has had
three separate bond issues since 1991 and had raised US$11, 7 billion by the
third issue in 2000.

More than three million Zimbabweans are in
South Africa, UK and the US owing to the political and economic crisis of
the last decade.Biti said the bond and several other home-grown financial
instruments are a measure of raising money from the domestic
market.

“Zimbabwe is in a unique and horrible situation in that we
only depend on one fiscal instrument to finance operations, that is budget
and taxation, yet other countries rely on overseas assistance,” he said.
“There is huge money on overseas borrowing which Zimbabwe cannot access,
World Bank (US$75 billion for sub-Saharan Africa), Africa Development Bank
(US$30 billion), but because of our crippling domestic debt we are ruled
out.”

Zimbabwe’s national debt is said to be more than US$7 billion,
outstripping the country’s GDP, which is estimated at just over US$6 billion
in 2010.The bulk of the country’s external debt is owed to multilateral
creditors and the debt has continued to grow mainly as a consequence of
interest and penalty charges on existing payment arrears.

Stocks
fall as govt ups empowerment drive

STOCKS fell significantly in the third
quarter in the wake of heightened indigenisation threats by government,
which dampened investor confidence and sentiment. The key industrial index
shed 6,80% to close at 155,82 with the mining index plummeting 11,03% to
close the quarter to September 30 at 152,42.Market capitalisation fell
by 14,12% after foreign buyers deserted the market.

Foreign
investors have been driving activity on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, given
the current tight liquidity challenges facing the economy.Foreign deals
accounted for 70% of the trades on the ZSE, with local investors, mainly
institutional investors, playing a limited role.

In the same quarter,
a total of US$43,5 million shares were bought by foreign investors with
foreign sales totalling US$45,2 million, a sign that investors became very
wary of the country risk and could not hold on to their shares given the
unclear investing environment.

Government in the same quarter set the
deadline for submission of indigenisation proposals to September 25, 2011, a
development that put the spotlight on mining companies such as Zimplats and
foreign-owned institutions as Old Mutual, Standard Chartered Bank and
Stanbic.

In September alone, foreign activity in the market was
subdued, with only 36,7 million shares worth US$7,3 million being bought
against a selloff of 50,1 million shares worth US$9,1
million.

The mining index in the period under review shed 24%, with
the industrial index gaining a marginal 3%.In the quarter, 36 counters
fell while 31 counters recorded gains, and 8 counters were
static.

Retail counters led the pack with Pelhams and TN Holdings Ltd
both surging a massive 400% to 80US cents and 4US cents respectively.The
introduction of credit terms on products has greatly driven sales for
retailers. Most retailers are now offering credit terms for periods longer
than six months, much to the relief of consumers who are currently facing
tight liquidity challenges.Pelhams has gone up 700% as of end of
September.

TN Holdings Ltd’s share price performance was buoyed by a
set of good interim financial results in which it made a profit of
US$5,7million, compared to a US$1,56million loss in the prior year. The
growth in earnings was as a result of a significant turnaround in the
furniture business and also a notable increase in profits from the banking
division.

Falgold snatched third position following a commendable set
of results in which it posted a profit after tax of US$736 020 from a loss
of US$1,9 million in the prior year. Firming commodity prices saw the price
of gold peaking above US$1 800 in the quarter mile the market welcomed news
that operations at Dalny Mine and Golden Quarry Mine had
resumed.

The bottom five performers for the quarter were NTS, Rio
Zim, Radar, Celsys and Caps. Most of these companies are facing multifaceted
problems which include undercapitalisation, huge debt burdens and low
capacity utilisation.

In the current quarter to 31 December 2011, the
market will await the 2012 Budget statement where most companies will be
anticipating policy measures which can give impetus to their operations and
hopefully turn around their fortunes.

With the current bickering
on elections by the major political players, it would be interesting to note
if the budget provides funding for a referendum and elections. The holding
of elections next year will continue to dampen confidence on the stock
market, since the country risk will definitely go up, which in turn will
scare foreign investors.

Mobile
banking services launch chart a new era

THE launch last week of mobile banking
services by Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and Telecel Zimbabwe has charted a new
era in delivery of banking products to the public, analysts have observed.
Zimbabwe, which has for long lagged behind in terms of ICT development,
seems to have turned a new corner, with new forms of banking anticipated to
foster financial inclusion of the unbanked population.

In the
region, Botswana has the highest mobile penetration rate of 125%, followed
by South Africa at 102%, Zimbabwe stands at 66% and compares higher to Kenya
at 50%.

The use of mobile phones has increased in developing
countries, but judging by Zimbabwe’s mobile penetration rate, there is still
a huge gap compared to first world countries which are generations ahead in
terms of ICT.

In the banking sector, Kingdom Bank and Tetrad
Investment Bank were the first innovators with their virtual mobile-banking
packages. Both the Kingdom CellCard and Tetrad’s E-Mali offered customers a
platform to transact using mobile phones.

But because of the
banks’ small branch network in the country and market presence, there was a
huge gap to be filled as the majority of the population did not have access
to these products and did not know about them. But as pioneers, Kingdom and
Tetrad laid a foundation for others to follow suit.Interfin Bank
marketing boss Palmer Mugavha sees the platform growing fast.

“The
adoption of mobile technology is viral and the use of mobile banking
services will quickly spread,” he said.

With EcoCash from Econet
Wireless, subscribers can now send and receive money quickly and easily
through mobile phones. TN Bank partnered Econet where they will register
agents who will able to facilitate transacting using the platform.The
Telecel system, which is technically different from Econet’s EcoCash, has
the advantage of offering a wide range of products to its users due to its
strategic partnership with ZimSwitch participating banks.

“It’s like
an ecosystem, where we are exploiting the core competencies of our partners.
ZimSwitch is competent at handling financial transactions and us as banks
are competent in delivery cash and managing liquidity,” said Kevin Terry the
MD of CABS Building Society.

ZimSwitch is a financial platform that
is used to connect and carry out transactions amongst banks and has been
operational for the past 15 years with 19 financial institutions connected
through it.

“Together we have more than half a million customers,
which is almost half the number of banked individuals in Zimbabwe. We expect
that by year-end about 85% of banks will be ZimSwitch ready,” said Obert
Mandimika, the marketing director of Telecel Zimbabwe during the
launch.

The greatest advantage of connecting through ZimSwitch for
the mobile banking service is that the banks will enjoy synergies of being
already connected to a web of institutions where users are able to send and
receive money through any ZimSwitch-ready outlet, be it a bank or an
agent.The cost of transacting under these mobile innovations is an area of
concern since bank charges are relatively high in Zimbabwe. However,
ZimSwitch is expected to lower the costs of transacting.

EcoCash
transaction fees are well above normal banking charges. Analysts say the
high charges might be stemming from the cost of going solo where the mobile
phone operator incurs high IT infrastructure costs to setup the whole
platform.

Analysts say the high transaction fees will not help a
new business trying to get as many clients on the platform, especially in
the face of a relatively cheaper alternative in the competition’s
financially inclusive ZimSwitch platform.

But the cost of
transacting is expected to go down as competition sets in.

Just as in
Kenya, one of Africa’s fastest growing mobile banking markets,
mobile-cellular tariffs have come down considerably due to increasing
competition between providers in Kenya. New entrant Airtel sparked a price
war and initiated fierce competition in the Kenyan market last year by
reducing voice-call rates by half and cutting prices of Short Message
Service charges (in local currency) from KES 3 to KES 1 (US$ 0,03 to US$
0,01).

Other operators, such as Safaricom and Telkom Kenya,
expectedly followed suit, making further cuts to their mobile rates. The
cheaper calling rates captured new subscribers in under-penetrated market
segments and made mobile banking services more affordable.

A
recent halt to any further tariff reductions was announced in May 2011 by
the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) and President Mwai Kibaki in
order to evaluate the impact and economic profitability of the price
wars.

Analysts say Zimbabwe should have this kind of competition,
adding that it is healthy as service providers will always look at offering
a low-cost product which is affordable to the low-end market.

For
instance, a charge of US$7 for withdrawing US$100 is relatively costly to
rural folk, who are struggling to earn any meaningful income from their
subsistence farming activities.

But these mobile banking
platforms also need to address the issue of security as electronic means of
transacting have been subject to hacking by fraudsters, analysts
added.

Financial institutions and mobile operators need to keep their
eyes on the ball so that they continually develop security systems and
features to prohibit such occurrences.

There is no need for users
to hold accounts with financial institutions for them to be able to transact
using the mobile banking facilities, but the Know Your Customer (KYC)
requirements need to be fully addressed through relevant regulatory
authorities.

Since this is a banking product, use of mobile phones
makes it even easier for money launderers to conceal their identity. Banking
experts say the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of
Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe need to work together to
fight against possible money laundering activities.

POTRAZ this
year reined-in on mobile operators to start disconnecting unregistered
subscribers. This move saw many subscribers providing their personal details
so that they are traceable.

MuckRaker:
Kunonga a mere cog in the Zanu PF wheel

THERE was a rather revealing picture of “Bishop” Nolbert Kunonga in
NewsDay on Monday. The aisles behind him in the Anglican Cathedral were
packed by his female supporters wearing their blue and white uniforms. And
what wisdom did the “bishop” convey at his press conference given from the
pulpit?He called Bishop Chad Gandiya “a silly man” for inviting “a
homosexual” to this country.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan
Williams, was the target of this childish abuse. We wonder what he made of
it!

Gandiya is the duly anointed bishop of the Anglican church of the
Province of Central Africa, but he has been the victim of an attempted
takeover by Kunonga’s mob. They have seized the Anglican cathedrals in
Harare and Mutare and other Anglican centres such as mission
schools.

Dr Williams is not as far as we know, how shall we say,
light on his feet, so why is he being called all sorts of names? Back home
at Lambeth Palace the Archbishop is under fire for having refused to endorse
gay priests in the American wing of the Anglican communion. He is in fact
opposed to their appointment. So why has Kunonga seized upon it when nobody
else shares his passion for the subject?

Quite simply
this is part and parcel of a wider war. Zimbabwe has over the past 10 years
become a totalitarian state where all aspects of the country’s life are
subject to a single command. Kunonga has risen from obscurity because he has
embraced President Robert Mugabe’s “bold stance” on the issue. He has even
been rewarded with a farm we are told.

Quite clearly Kunonga is not
his own man. He has become an instrument of Zimbabwe’s party-political
empire builders. Nobody except perhaps his army of female admirers takes him
seriously. He is a cog in the Zanu PF wheel.

Just as we have Lawyers
for Justice, Pan-African Youth Union, Zimbabwe Entrepreneurs Youth Action,
Upfumi Kuvadiki, Exhumers Association of Zimbabwe, Coffin Makers Association
of Zimbabwe, and Destiny for Afrika Network, so we have Kunonga and his gang
of Zanu PF-inspired bigots. At least Mugabe was able to hear the testimony
of the Anglican bishops on the extent of the violence and property seizures
across the country.Williams quoted his predecessor Michael Ramsay who spoke
of how a former ruling class clung on to the power they had seized at the
expense of the indigenous people and ignored their rights and their hopes
for dignity and political freedom.“How tragic that this should be
replaced,” Williams said, “by another kind of lawlessness where so many live
in daily fear of attack if they fail to comply with what the powerful
require of them.”

In this vein we were amused to see
ZTV’s choice of cartoons last Saturday morning. It was George Orwell’s
Animal Farm, a particularly well-made animated version of the great
anti-Stalinist political satire.

Most readers will know the story of
how the pigs took over the farm oppressing all the other animals. Hound-dogs
killed all chicken, goats and other animals that opposed the despotic rule
of Napoleon whose portrait hung everywhere.

When the corrupt pigs
took over they threw a banquet while the cold and oppressed animals outside
looked on. The corrupt hierarchy of pigs traded their farm produce for a
steady supply of whisky from the neighbouring farmers. They soon got drunk.
Eventually the farmhouse was liberated and Napoleon was
overthrown.

This was screened at prime-time viewing for kids. We hope
they learnt a thing or two.And when ZTV next want to conceal the
president’s visit somewhere they must remember to maintain Joice Mujuru’s
designation as vice-president and not say she was acting president. That is
a dead give-away!

We were interested to hear President
Mugabe’s suggestion when opening the Zanu PF Central Committee meeting in
Harare last week that the MDC-T should resign from the government if they
oppose the indigenisation law.Why should they resign? It is Mugabe who lost
the last election, not the MDC. There has been little or no support for the
dubious indigenisaton law which is universally viewed as a Zanu PF
help-yourself scheme. It will prove extremely damaging to the economy which
is why the MDC-T opposes it.Zanu PF zealots have been writing to the Herald
suggesting that if the MDC-T seeks to undermine the indigenisation law, the
offenders must be “brought to book”.

Haven’t they got it the
wrong way round? Shouldn’t it be the architects of a law which undermines
the economy by scaring off investors and impoverishing ordinary Zimbabweans
be the ones “brought to book”?

The Indigenisation Act was on the
statute book when Zimbabweans went to the polls in 2008. They unambiguously
rejected Zanu PF’s punishing policies. Why should the winners of that
election resign while the defeated incumbent sits tight and enacts bad
laws?Another point here: the whole purpose of the Sadc intervention in 2007
was to avert precisely the policies Zanu PF is forcing down the throats of
people now.

As if companies operating in Zimbabwe are
not embattled enough, Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa has called on all
foreign-owned companies operating in Zimbabwe to “clearly state where they
stand on the issue of sanctions”.Mnangagwa said this while addressing
Zanu PF supporters at Nyama Business Centre in Zvishavane.He said those
who do not support the “illegal” sanctions should openly denounce them as
they have “stalled the country’s economic development and caused untold
suffering” to the people of Zimbabwe.

Mnangagwa should be
reminded that when you point your finger at someone, three fingers are
pointing back at you. Surely most Zimbabweans know who and what has “stalled
the country’s economic development and caused untold suffering”. We were
already reeling from Zanu PF’s poisonous policies way before the “illegal”
sanctions were put in place.

He said those companies that do not
denounce the sanctions can as well go back to their respective countries of
origin.According to ZBC, Mnangagwa also took a swipe at America, which is
“attacking its citizens and journalists in a bid to quell the current unrest
that has rocked the country for days”.

He said the violence in
New York “has exposed the hipocricy (sic) of the so called champion of
democracy, which is on record as claiming that Zimbabwe is a lawless
state”.

Meanwhile, ZBC chief correspondent Reuben Barwe was on Monday
angry on President Mugabe’s behalf after some of the media accompanying Dr
Williams asked the latter about Mugabe’s health.According to Barwe, the
“embedded” journalists had the “audacity” to ask Williams about the
president’s health. Quite obviously Barwe is opposed to journalists who ask
questions!

A few words for our old friend Taffy Mahoso.
It is rather unlikely that any newspaper would refer to “shoe licking”.
Where did he get that from? It is more likely to be boots that are getting
licked.

And contrary to his claims, this newspaper in 2002 challenged
him to produce what evidence he had of Walter Kansteiner’s claims that
independent newspapers were the recipients of American aid.

As
far as we know, no such aid was forthcoming.The Americans obviously thought
better of it. If Mahoso thinks he has evidence of such largesse perhaps he
can produce it!As for newspapers “gratuitously attacking” Jonathan Moyo,
hasn’t Mahoso got things a bit mixed up! Who has been doing the
attacking?

A thoughtful editorial from the Financial
Mail’s Barney Mthombothi caught our attention recently. It was about
Africa’s failure to confront its problems honestly.

“Unless we
start owning up to our problems, to our culpability and complicity, we will
be nowhere near finding a solution,” Mthombothi says.He points to famine
relief in the Horn of Africa coming from Britain (£100 million, including
£13 million from the public). Canada is chipping in with C$50 million. “The
South African government has come to the party with a paltry million rand,”
he says.

So far no other African country has made a donation.“The
suffering of ordinary people sadly does not often rouse our leaders into
action,” Mthombothi says. “They are more likely to spring to the defence of
people like Robert Mugabe and Muammar Gaddafi than visit the refugee camps
that the actions of these despots may spawn.”

Thabo Mbeki
has been venting his spleen on the West, Mthombothi tells us. He lays the
continent’s problems at the door of the West and the UN, he says. Mbeki
flays the West for the conflicts in the Ivory Coast and Libya.“Mbeki is an
intelligent man,” Mthombothi says. “He should know that the progress he
seeks (in Africa) cannot be achieved by purveying half-truths. It merely
sidetracks people from the real issues. French intervention in the Ivory
Coast prevented a calamitous civil war stoked by its leaders while Africa
stood by.”

In Libya, he says, the UN mission was meant to avert the
slaughter of innocent people while Africa’s leaders happily sided with the
murderer.“The last time the UN sat on its hands was with respect to Rwanda
and around half a million people were hacked to death.” Paul Kagame is still
making political capital out of it.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we
blamed ourselves, starting with the machete-wielding thugs who did the
actual killings,” Mthombothi asks. “Why don’t we look at ourselves? “Who
knows, we may just collide with a solution.

“‘Look what they have
done to us’ we say plaintively to those who care to listen. We are forever
victims, never masters of our own fate. But every handout that assaults our
dignity, every emaciated child who dies needlessly, is an indictment of
Africa.”

Meanwhile, Muckraker is pleased to note that
South Africa’s submission to China on the issue of a visa for the Dalai Lama
to attend Archbishop Tutu’s birthday party has exposed the emptiness of
Pretoria’s claims to a human rights-based foreign policy which ignores the
country’s own constitution.Tutu called the government’s actions
“disgraceful” and “worse than the apartheid government”.

Another
blow came from Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week who criticised South
Africa’s refusal to condemn Syria in the UN vote.“I fully accept South
Africa’s decision,” the Turkish PM said, “but innocent people are being
mercilessly killed in Syria and we ought to be on their side.”Indeed “we
ought”.

Speaking after conducting a “fact finding mission” last week,
Dokora said contrary to reports by some people, the school system was
“flowing smoothly”.The faction led by Bishop Kunonga recently evicted a
priest, headmasters and senior nursing staff at the school on the basis of a
Supreme Court judgment that gave it custody of the
properties.

Dokora went on to claim that government was “unfazed” by
the religious battles as school pupils and teachers were not
affected.“We went there to find the natural conditions at the school
following the various reports”, he said. “Surprisingly, the reports are
completely divorced from the situation on the ground. The school system is
flowing normally and we met villagers, who did not recognise us and talked
to them without them knowing who we were,” Dokora said.

The fact
that a priest, headmasters and senior nursing staff at the school had been
unceremoniously evicted and have had to secure temporary shelter from the
community, seems to have escaped Dokora’s notice.

Whose interests is
he supposed to protect? What about the plight of the headmasters under his
jurisdiction? We wonder what will “faze” the deputy minister if this
doesn’t.

Eric
Bloch Column: What Biti should do

OVER the last fortnight, the Minister of Finance Tendai Biti and
his team have been very energetically engaged in widespread consultations as
to matters to be addressed in the 2012 national Budget, due for presentation
to parliament next month.

That they are doing so is very commendable,
for they cannot otherwise possibly be aware of that which is critically
necessary for the survival, recovery and growth of Zimbabwe’s distraught
economy. And it is especially of importance because whilst one must accord
approbation to the minister for his vigorous endeavours since early 2009 to
achieve a substantive economic turnaround (with a modicum of success),
nevertheless the economy is still bedevilled with a multitude of grievous
ills.

Moreover, whilst most of those ills are consequences of
political machinations of others in the so-called Government of National
Unity (GNU), nevertheless some are directly attributable to ill-considered
policies which have emanated from and been pursued by the minister, albeit
undoubtedly in good faith and not with ill-intent.

The harsh
facts are that on the one hand, although the economy has attained some
growth, that growth has been from a low base. The majority of Zimbabwe’s
population continue to suffer extreme poverty and the marginal recovery is
recurrently hindered, and partially reversed, by appallingly conceived
political policies and statements, and by foolhardy government
actions.

Admittedly, few of those are attributable to Biti and
he has done much that is constructive. Nevertheless, his fiscal role is that
not only must he do more that is right, but he must also intensify his
endeavours to contain the foolhardy, damaging actions of others insofar as
it may be possible for him to do so.

The minister’s task is a
most unenviable one, for the fiscus is bankrupt, and the desultory economy
cannot possibly yield all the revenues that are necessary to service
essential needs, let alone also the very desirable economic, social and
other expenditures. It is his misfortune that not only must he make the
suit fit the available cloth, but at the same time he must seek to enhance
availability of cloth without excessively and counter-productively shearing
the sheep!

To that end, he must first and foremost ensure that the
non-beneficial outflows of many funds ceases immediately. It is
incomprehensible that almost nine months ago it was identified that the
government was “employing” over 75 000 ghost workers. If each of those
non-existent or mythical beings is earning only US$200 per month, the direct
cost to government is US$180 million per annum. There can be no credible
explanation for failure to counter this erosion of Zimbabwe’s meagre
resources with extreme haste. If government in general, and the Ministry of
Finance in particular, do not have the requisite forensic skills to
effectively address this ongoing fraud forthwith, then private sector or
international skills should be accessed to do so.

In like manner,
there must be unreservedly great determination to contain the immense
corruption prevailing within the public sector that is costing Treasury (and
hence the taxpayers) massive amounts that are otherwise greatly needed for
national well-being. Such corruption is very diverse, ranging from
misappropriation of supplies, unjustified travel, abuse and misuse of state
assets, receipt of supplier “commissions” for untoward contractual awards,
and much else. Obviously, not the entire government and its employees are
corrupt, but the populace is very well aware that many are. In addition,
there must be a much more vigorous endeavour to minimise state expenditures
which yield little, if any benefits (It is inexplicable that delegations to
sessions of the UN should exceed 80 persons, with all concomitant travel
expenses and per diem allowances and like excesses for innumerable other
hierarchy travels).

Similarly, how does Zimbabwe, with a resident
population of less than 12 million, smaller than that of one state in the
US, justify having more ministers, deputy ministers and ancillary echelons
than have the government of US and most other developed countries? Equally,
the public service has grossly more numbers than required for a country of
Zimbabwe’s size and population. Admittedly, Zimbabwe cannot afford to pay
large retrenchment packages, but by natural attrition and attendant internal
reorganisation, numbers could progressively be significantly
reduced.

Much else is required to be addressed, initially in the
forthcoming budget, but ongoing in future years. Some of the greatest
priorities include:

The threshhold for individuals to pay tax MUST be
raised. It is harshness and cruelty in the extreme to tax persons on
incomes below the Poverty Datum Line (PDL). Currently, the PDL for a family
of six is in excess of US$500 per month. Assuming that family has two
income earners, with one earning marginally more than the other, the lowest
tenable threshhold level would be US$300, as distinct from the current
US$250. The minister may well say “But, I need the money”! However, that
is no justification to worsen the poverty-related hardships of so many.
Moreover, if taxpayers have greater spending power, the minister will
generate much compensatory income by way of indirect taxes, such as Vat and
customs duties, whilst enhanced consumer spending will be economically
stimulatory, resulting in further downstream tax
revenues.

Similarly, in order to alleviate much national distress,
any and all importations of medical equipment, medications, and healthcare
requisites as are not locally produced should be wholly exempted from all
import duties and Vat, irrespective of whether they are being imported by
individuals for own use, or by healthcare providers or other
enterprises.

Concurrently with addressing the import duties and Vat
issues associated with national health, Minister Biti needs to review other
importation imposts. Zimbabwe is desperately trying to assure the survival
and resurrection of its horrendously debilitated industrial sector, and yet
in February 2011 the Minister markedly reduced duties of clothing, footwear,
textiles and other products which compete with those manufactured in
Zimbabwe, compounding the unfair and unbalanced competition that many of
those imports have against Zimbabwean products by virtue of grossly
excessive export subsidies (in breach of the World Trade Organisation
rules), provided by the governments of some exporting
countries.

The minister must raise the import duties on such
products to rates which level the playing fields and thereby support the
continuance and revival of industry. At the same time, he needs to reduce
the import duty rates on those manufacturing inputs that must be imported,
because they are not available locally.

Byo
revolving fund under scrutiny

THE year 2010 was an annus horribilis for most Bulawayo
companies which were forced to scale down operations or shut down due to
serious viability challenges and lack of lines of credit. About 87 companies
were forced to close shop resulting in over 20 000 redundancies in what was
the one-time industrial hub of Zimbabwe, and resuscitating ailing firms is
of paramount importance.

Finance minister Tendai Biti launched a
US$40 million revolving fund on Monday at a ceremony which was
oversubscribed, raising fears that there would be a serious scramble for the
money to be disbursed under the Distressed and Marginalised Areas Fund
(Dimaf).

The enthusiasm exhibited during the launch of the fund
displayed the drive and commitment of business to boost operations in the
Bulawayo industrial hub of Belmont, Kelvin and Donnington, which have become
ghost neighbourhoods.

At the height of industrial production,
Bulawayo contributed 25% to the country’s gross domestic product and was
home to big textile, clothing, pharmaceutical, metal and electrical firms
employing thousands.

But in the last decade, the city has seen little
industrial activity with once renowned parastatals such as the National
Railways of Zimbabwe operating way below capacity and constantly failing to
pay workers.

Due to the massive railway network, Bulawayo was
considered the transport hub linking several Sadc cities and towns.A
probe by a seven-member cabinet taskforce chaired by Industry and Commerce
minister Welshman Ncube indicated that US$50 million was required by 17
companies to kick-start production because most of them required new
equipment to replace the obsolete machinery, dating back to 1975 in some
cases, which they were using.

Therefore, the question is that if
17 companies required US$50 million, then how many firms would benefit from
the US$40 million set aside by government in conjunction with Old Mutual,
which contributed US$20 million to the fund.

Fears were expressed
during the fund launch that some undeserving companies would benefit,
including those from outside Bulawayo.But Biti said although the money would
be disbursed through CABS, his office would administer the fund to ensure
transparency. The beneficiaries of the fund, Biti said, would be made public
in his 2012 national budget statement in December.

More money
would be poured into the fund to help companies boost operations and
re-create employment for the more than 20 000 workers left jobless at the
height of problems bedevilling Bulawayo firms.

While some
industrialists say US$40 million is a drop in the ocean, many believe that
it provides some relief to cushion companies after many years of battling to
stay afloat.

Biti explained that the US$40 million fund would be lent
to companies at below average market interest rates of 15% and would be a
long-term finance scheme as part of government’s effort to create conditions
of booming business.

“Dimaf will focus on provinces that have
been lagging behind; areas that have not been equally enjoying the national
cake compared to other towns and cities. At the beginning of next year, we
will put in an additional fund,” said Biti.

Captains of industry
said the cash-strapped coalition government’s bid to help struggling
companies was a giant step considering a myriad of challenges it is
facing.

But industrialists have demanded a forensic inspection of
companies before disbursement of funds to ensure the needy benefited first.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries Matabeleland Chapter president Ruth
Labode said plans were already underway to form a taskforce to draw up a
list of companies which should be prioritised.

In the Zimbabwe
Industrial Development Policy (ZIDP) adopted by cabinet a fortnight ago, the
government has identified priority areas such as food and beverages,
clothing and textiles, pharmaceuticals and metals and electrical goods as
pillars of industrial development.

The Let Bulawayo Survive report
which paved the way for the release of the US$40 million fund, would be used
together with the ZIDP, which is targeting the increase of manufacturing
capacity utilisation from 45% to 80% between now and 2015. ZIDP is also
aimed at increasing the manufacturing sector contribution to GDP from 15% to
30%.

“We are guarding the US$40 million jealously because we are
aware that there are Harare companies and greedy businessmen who are
targeting the fund,” said Labode. “Biti said the money is for Bulawayo and
we don’t want outsiders to benefit,” she said.She said it was misleading
to dismiss the US$40 million as a drop in the ocean considering that the
money was coming from a cash-strapped government.

But analyst Chamu
Mutasa said the Dimaf was also likely to be used by political parties to
build their power base ahead of elections expected next year.MDC-T, Zanu
PF and MDC-N have been scrambling for the resuscitation of industries which
they want to use to score political points in the usually political volatile
Bulawayo.

MDC-T and Zanu PF set up committees to spearhead the
development of Bulawayo as well as the other two Matabeleland provinces. The
move, Mutasa said, was mere politicking which does not represent the genuine
concerns affecting ordinary workers.

Apart from the US$40 million
fund, cabinet has also come up with a raft of resolutions to boost
industrial production, and these include scrapping of duty on raw materials
and correction of Zesa tariffs discrepancies for industries.

The
power sector should also be opened to private sector players for
transmission and distribution modes through the Public/Private Partnerships
framework.

Physical checks at border posts would also be
intensified to curb high incidents of smuggling. On judicial managers, it
was resolved in cabinet that it be limited to overseeing not more than two
companies and that companies that do not owe creditors should be immediately
removed from judicial management through provision of working capital.

Visionless
leadership defers Zim’s dream

Continued from last weekThe hope and aspiration of democratic
forces in Zimbabwe was that the coalition government would be a genuine
transition that would create conditions for free and fair elections and the
ushering in of a new Zimbabwe, argues Biti in this second instalment of a
two-part article.

But, according to Biti, the truth of the matter is that
we are nowhere near genuine transition today than we were in 2000. He gives
the reasons why:

It was Immanuel Kant who stated that “nothing straight
can be made from the timber of crooked humanity”. He may very well have had
in mind the Zanu PF leadership of 1980.

The point I am making is
that post-Independence leadership in Zimbabwe put a premium on lack of a
vision and direction. The Zanu PF leadership in 1980 lacked a dream to
aspire to. Perhaps there is truth in what Ibbo Mandaza has argued in the
preface to Edgar Tekere autobiography: “The vision of a democratic society
in which the violations and denials of the colonial era would be a thing of
the past and a new meritocracy established. Almost half a century into
post-independence, Africa as a whole has demonstrated a glaring (economic
and political) incapacity to fulfil this vision.”

The question I pose
is: What vision of a Zimbabwe did the post- Independence leaders have? How
did they see Zimbabwe in 1990, in 2000, in 2010 and 40 years later in
2020?

I wonder how Morris Nyagumbo would have answered this question
in 1980. My suspicion is that he would have foreseen a prosperous Zimbabwe,
a modern stable and competitive democracy. The truth of the matter is that
wherever he is, his dream has been betrayed.

Indeed the truth of
the matter is that all nationalists had a dream for a free and equal
Zimbabwe, not the one in which we are held hostage to the romanticism of the
struggle as if there is not one black Zimbabwean who did not participate in
this struggle in one form or another.

The fact of the matter is that
the revolution has failed. Hope and expectation were hijacked and the last
31 years have been a wasteland of pain and missed opportunities. Indeed, as
Langston Hughes dramatically put it in his poem A Dream Deferred, we must
all ask: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in
the sun? Or fester like a sore — And then run? Does it stink like rotten
meat? Or crust and sugar over — like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like
a heavy load. Or does it explode?”

The truth of the matter is that
bad leadership has put a premium on this country. I have often wondered how
this country would have been had Herbert Chitepo not have been assassinated
in March 1979. The same applies to great visionaries like Parirenyatwa,
Nikita Mangena, Jason Moyo and Josiah Tongogara.

My suspicion is
that things would not have been what they are now. For the past 31 years we
have been prisoners to a leadership that has done nothing but concentrate on
how to gain power, how to maintain power and how not to lose
power.

However, no one should be surprised that the post-Independent
Zimbabwean state has been a failure. As shown by the brilliant Wilfred
Mhanda in his unparalleled autobiography, “even before independence and
during the liberation struggle, the dominant leadership did not have a
vision but was concerned with power and its reproduction and their personal
reproduction”.

The plots and counter-plots, the schemes and
counter-schemes that Mhanda discloses in his book Dzino are true evidence of
this power retention agenda.

The pursuit of the gospel of power
has resulted in the emasculation of the state resulting in a personalised
and militarised vampire state. The vampire state has had no respect for
constitutions, institutions and the rule of law. The vampire state has used
violence to reproduce itself.

This brings me to the dynamics of the
GPA and the inclusive government. The hope and aspiration of democratic
forces in Zimbabwe was that the coalition government would be a genuine
transition that would create conditions for free and fair elections and the
ushering in of a new Zimbabwe.

But the truth of the matter is that we
are nowhere near genuine transition today than we were in 2000. Genuine
transition will only occur when the old order can trust the new order and is
ready to transfer power to the new order. Genuine transfer will only occur
when a turning point has been reached when an old order realises that its
old ways and thinking are no longer sustainable. Moreover there are
instances when the old order knows it is on its way out but will fight
back.

Holmquist F and Ford M put this point succinctly in a 1992
article in Africa Today: “...transitions from authoritarian rule are
inevitably fraught with uncertainty and danger. It is not democracy or
elections that are so dangerous but rather the mayhem that sitting regimes
are capable of fomenting in their efforts to squeeze the most out of eroding
power monopolies”.

Does that mean that the situation is
unsalvageable? In my respective view, there is light at the end of the
tunnel even though the tunnel might be longer. The people of Zimbabwe are
hungry for change and will not allow this dream to be deferred. Testimony to
this is the continued relevance and support for Morgan Tsvangiari and the
MDC brand. Witness the thousands of people that have attended our rallies
recently. Thus the existence of a huge mass of people that is ready for real
change.

Secondly is the desire and quest for change in Zanu PF
itself. Virtually every Zanu PF minister, MP or leader that you speak to
confirm the fundamental reality that things cannot go on as they are. The
WikiLeaks exposures have not told us anything that we did not know. The
challenge in Zanu PF is whether or not their internal succession mechanism
will be able to generate a core-group of individuals that can be
shareholders in a new order.

The greatest danger facing Zanu PF
is that there is a small but powerful component of hardliners that are in or
linked to the military who have abrogated to themselves the guardianship of
national good as defined by themselves and will do anything to stop real
change in Zimbabwe.

The third area of comfort lies in the millions of
Zimbabwean that are in the diaspora. This huge population has been exposed
to sophisticated systems and values that put the citizen first. They remain
loyal to Zimbabwe as evidenced by their blogs and nocturnal activities on
facebook and twitter. In this group of Zimbabweans are scientists,
engineers, entrepreneurs, millionaires and billionaires. Surely with such a
group of people the country will be in good hands.Fourth is
globalisation and Zimbabwe’s integration. Zimbabwe is part of the
international village and cannot stand in isolation for long. Therefore
Zimbabwe cannot continue to exist and remain impervious or immune to
developments happening around it. If leadership renewal takes place in the
Ivory Coast and elsewhere Zimbabwe cannot continue to be an innocent
bystander.

Fifth, international law and international
institutions such as Sadc, UN, AU and indeed the entire infrastructure of
modern international jurisprudence has moved since the days of Article 2.7
of the UN Charter when everything that happened in a country was entirely
the business of that country. As the late and great Kader Ismal has pointed
out in his autobiography Politics In My Blood, “International law has become
a tool not only in the liberation of people but in the entrenchment of
fundamental human rights”.

Thus, “the orthodox and conservative”
approach to international law which conferred on states the exclusive rights
of sovereign management of its own affairs is gone. What happens to your
neighbour is no longer foreign policy but domestic policy. Sovereignty is no
longer absolute. International bodies such as Sadc and the UN will not allow
the madness of June 2008 or the continued deferment of the people’s dream of
real change in Zimbabwe.

However, the biggest hope for our nation is
that dialogue is taking place and we have learnt to appreciate dialogue. The
truth of the matter is that in churches, boardrooms dialogue is taking
place. This dialogue must continue. There must be the deepening of dialogue
between political parties, civil society and government, business and
labour. A nation that forsakes dialogue opens itself to the uncertainly of a
jungle of suspicion and violence.

Indeed the dialogue amongst
Zimbabwe and major political parties must graduate from the folly of power
sharing agreement to the genuine foundations that will midwife a new
Zimbabwe and guarantee the existence and actualisation of the vision
expounded by Tapiwa Mashakada in his medium term policy of a “modern, stable
democratic developmental state”.

So maybe this generation will leave
the new Zimbabwe that Nyagumbo, Chitepo, Nkomo, Learnmore Jongwe, Jason
Moyo, Mangena, Tenjiwe Lesabe, Tongogara and Solomon Mujuru never
saw.

Biti is Zimbabwe’s Finance minister and also secretary-general
of the MDC-T.

The
best and worst of the unity govt

THE height of the Zimbabwean crisis saw the
Zimbabwean economy shrink by a third, unemployment ballooning to over 75%,
and health and education and other basic services collapsing. The inclusive
government has brought a measure of socio-economic stability. We should not
forget that at the height of the crisis schools were closed for almost a
full year with teachers on strike and government departments in a perpetual
go-slow mode due to inadequate remuneration, poor work ethics, endemic
corruption and chronic incapacity to deliver.

In order to move
forward as a country we have to take stock of the incremental changes that
have occurred over the past three years even though this has not translated
into steady economic growth, infrastructural development, increased access
to basic services, or sufficiently increased wages and salaries accompanied
by better standards of living. We are still many years from achieving
socio-economic transformation as the country is still in transition and is
likely to be in such a state even beyond a new constitution and
elections.

Change is not an event but a process, and a painful one
too. Whilst it may be easier to change the faces of those who are ruling,
delivering real change which impacts lives and livelihoods is a difficult
proposition.

The economy has stabilised but it may take five or so
years before we experience real economic growth and another 10-15 years
before such economic growth is necessarily accompanied by corresponding
human development indicators such as access to health services, water,
electricity, housing and a decent standard of living.

The change
of government may happen speedily but transformation takes longer. The
constitution-making process may give birth to a new constitution but the
process of grounding the new constitutional institutions, processes and
values will take time as these are subject to the evolution of political
culture and behaviour. Likewise it will take time to change the work ethic
of government departments and service providers and a new government may not
practically translate to a change in the bureaucrats that run
government.

The inclusive government has brought in fresh brains,
positive policies and for the first time several ministers who are actually
accountable to the people. This of course has been blighted by the
“Luxurygate Scandal” which saw the government recklessly splashing millions
of dollars on luxury vehicles for government ministers and expenditure on
what Finance minister Tendai Biti describes as “useless things’’ such as
foreign travel .

There is, however, a silver lining in the cloud and
at times it is that which should give us hope. A new breed of ministers has
injected new ideas, energy and policies in the past couple of years. These
have included the likes of Moses Mzila Ndlovu, Gorden Moyo, Professor
Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti, David Coltart and Walter Mzembi. Even the
controversial Arthur Mutambara has come with some good ideas on
Private-Public Partnerships. These ministers from across the political
divide have achieved some measurable deliverables under very prohibitive
circumstances. These deliverables include but are not limited
to:

The possible resuscitation of the iron and steel industry through
a strategic partnership deal with foreign investors. The recovery of the
iron and steel industry will have a ripple effect on industry and the
economy at large.

The allocation of US$40 million to ailing
industries in Bulawayo largely through the efforts of Industry and Commerce
minister Welshman Ncube with the able support of Moyo and Biti and with the
consent of the entire cabinet.

The formulation of a corporate
governance framework for parastatals and state
enterprises.

Marginally improved fiscal discipline under Tendai Biti
who has irked some of his colleagues in the MDC-T and Zanu PF with his
tight-fisted control of the country’s finances.

In very difficult
political circumstances epitomised by the emergence of divergent centres of
power, conflicting government policy, uncertainty, selective application of
the law as well as lack of institutional reform the country has still
managed to move forward albeit at snail’s pace. However, if viewed in the
context of both history and posterity the country is making incremental
strides forward which will only be measurable with hindsight in 10-15
years.

Admittedly the inclusive government has been a spectacular
failure in implementing over 20 provisions of the Global Political Agreement
including:

The setting up of an all inclusive economic advisory
body.

Failure to institute an independent land
audit.

Liberalisation of the airwaves.

An effective and
ornamental national healing organ and dysfunctional institutional
framework.

Institutional reform.

Selective application of
the law and partisan policing by law enforcement agencies.

The
socio-economic agenda of the inclusive government has also operated in fits
and starts with the Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme (Sterp), the
unity government’s economic blueprint being replaced by the Medium Term
Policy before it had fully achieved its objectives.

The
Government of National Unity (GNU) has presented the country with breathing
space to recover from the pre-2008 madness, stabilise and once again move
forward. Obviously the inclusive government is not permanent and is likely
to come to an end by 2013, but in the absence of viable options it appears
to be the only practical solution for the next 12 or so months.

A
post-GNU government should be able to build on the successes of the GNU
without the hindrances of conflicting and confusing centres of power. The
inclusive government can best be described in the words of Charles
Dickens:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was
an age of wisdom, it was an age of foolishness, it was an epoch of belief,
it was an epoch of incredulity, it was a spring of hope, it was a winter of
despair, we had everything before us we had nothing before
us.”

Editor’s
Memo: MDC-T’s poll demands in line with GPA

IT is now three years since the
principals to the Global Political Agreement put pen to paper, giving birth
to the current inclusive government.

The agreement was finally
inked after protracted negotiations among the three parties bringing relief
to a nation that was on tenterhooks. Hope and expectation abounded that the
agreed-on issues would be implemented paving the way to credible elections.
The parties were in agreement, so we thought.

Alas, three years
down the line nothing of substance has been achieved except endless
bickering and point-scoring. The end product has been a dysfunctional
government that has spawned confusion and frustration, not only among
Zimbabweans but investors and the international community as
well.

It has become clear that this marriage of inconvenience
should end sooner rather than later.However, having said this, there is
an urgent need to have substantive and meaningful reforms undertaken before
the elections to avoid a repeat of the shambolic 2008 presidential election
run-off.

To their credit the MDC-T this week awakened from their deep
slumber and inept leadership and demanded the full implementation of the GPA
and related democratic reforms.

The party’s national executive on
Wednesday made it crystal clear that they would not participate in any
election unless certain benchmarks are met. These are:

The
completion of the constitution-making process and the referendum;The
completion of the drafting of a new voters roll;The completion of media
reform;The completion of legislative reform;The conclusion of
outstanding issues at the dialogue table on security sector realignment and
staffing of Zec;The compliance by Zimbabwe of the Sadc electoral guidelines
on free and fair elections;The putting in place of mechanisms to ensure
that violence will not be a factor in the said election.The prevailing
situation in the country is a loud clarion call for enactment of
reforms.The voters roll is a shambles, full of dead people, children under
the legal voting age of 18 and dozens of people who were born in 1897. Above
all it is subject to manipulation.

The state media, especially
the sole broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, has become a mouthpiece
of Zanu PF with numerous jingles praising President Robert Mugabe and
castigating the MDC-T as stooges and puppets.

The need for security
sector reform cannot be over emphasised. Zanu PF thugs in June beat up MPs
and journalists in front of police officers at a public hearing on the
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bill. Despite overwhelming evidence of the
identity of the perpetrators, not a single arrest has been made. Those
perceived to be MDC sympathisers including an MDC councillor Victor
Chifodya, were beaten up as Mugabe preached peace at parliament building
again in front of police officers. Service chiefs have said they will not
salute a president chosen by Zimbabweans if they do not meet their set
criteria.

The Zec Electoral Commission secretariat is more or less
the same one that was responsible for delaying the results of the March 2008
presidential election for five weeks, as well presiding over the sham
run-off in June the same year.

The prevailing scenario strongly
indicates the need for the MDC to remain steadfast on the demand for reforms
for the good of the nation.However, we are also concerned with the MDC-T’s
capitulation on the appointment of Roy Bennett as Agriculture deputy
minister. For MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai to finally succumb to Mugabe’s
resistance to swearing-in Bennett for the post by appointing Seiso Moyo
shows weakness.For the MDC-T to have fought for Bennett for so long only to
capitulate now sends the wrong signal, casts doubts on their principles and
greatly encourages Mugabe and Zanu PF to be more obstinate.

Such
weakness cannot be repeated if the party is to remain credible and relevant
in the national body politic.

Candid
Comment: Credit now the fourth money

“LOANS, loans, loans,” screams an advert in one
newspaper. “Instant cash loans available,” screams another. Yet another
advert reads “Loans for civil servants”. At various workplaces,
representatives from established banks make presentations to market their
banks to employees. And how do they entice them; what do they offer? You
guessed right, loans.

However, in the editorial sections
of the newspapers in which these offers appear, a running theme is the lack
of liquidity on the market, leading to companies failing to access loans to
finance their operations. On the same pages, financial analyses talk of
badly managed quoted companies that are up to their neck in debt, with one
leading company owing up to US$50 million. In the meantime the Reserve Bank
governor is to table how much he and his companies owe to several local
banks.

Those who claim to be in the know say this one-time de
facto prime minister of this country might also owe in excess of US$50
million. Not to be outdone, clothing retailers are now offering their
customers more than six months to pay. But that pales against motor vehicle
showrooms that are now offering up to 36 months to pay for the purchase of
vehicles, whose average prices range from US$35 000 per unit. And yet we
have a credit crunch!

From where are those companies in debt distress
borrowing? Where are the banks that are enticing new customers getting the
money? And we know retail stores can’t simply offer terms if they have no
financial backing and neither can our car dealers. Where is that money
coming from? Perhaps we can safely say that there isn’t a liquidity problem
as such. The question is on the distribution of the liquidity. To use Karl
Marx’s words, the funds are “being concentrated in a few
hands”.

What is clear is that there are some financial institutions
with what are slowly becoming slush funds, whether these are customers’
deposits or lines of credit. The fact that the banks, car dealers and
retailers are now offering longer pay back periods means they can
sufficiently cover themselves for that period. Of course, the banks are
making a killing on the interest rates. As mentioned elsewhere, with lending
rates of 25% and deposit rates of 12%, against inflation of 5% or less, the
yields are quite good for the finance houses. If the current credit terms
continue, the next things is interest rates will go down as the financiers
fight for the business. And this might just be so, as consumers in the
developed countries, who are still smarting from the last global financial
crisis (we’re told we’re getting into another one) and the last thing they
want to have are some more loans.

Anyone who’s analysed life
overseas will see that it is heavily dependent on credit. That’s why your
cousin in the diaspora drives the latest “Beema” but cannot afford to buy
you a drink if you visit him. As debt peddlers look for new markets, this
might see more lines of credit to countries such as ours where there are
takers. And when that happens we’ll have finally integrated into the global
financial system, and any if its potential crises.

The last ones have
affected us not directly but consequentially. In other words, we’ve been
affected by the crises, eg the eurozone crisis but we are not part of them.
With our integration into the global financial economy imminent, this means
that other initiatives like the much talked about fourth money (M4) become
redundant, whether or not they were feasible. Debt, or credit is the fourth
money. Reader beware.

Stop
human rights abuses

ZIMBABWE presented
its national report on Monday at the United Nations Human Rights Council’s
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Switzerland, claiming to be
fundamentally protecting and promoting human rights in profound ways which
are creditable and commendable.

The UPR is a process which involves a
review of the human rights records of all 192 UN member states once every
four years. So Zimbabwe had a perfect opportunity to give a candid
assessment of its situation, pointing out areas of success and progress,
while admitting problems and constraints.Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa
in his report painted a glowing picture of the situation, declaring Zimbabwe
was upholding human rights. He said the only problem was sanctions and lack
of resources.

Chinamasa presented his report with aggression and
grit, as if to scare away critics and gloss over the
situation.

His report contained a lot of “evidence” in the form of
the normative and institutional framework, national policies on human
rights, enforceability of human rights before the courts, national human
rights institutions, regional and international human rights instruments and
“protecting of human rights on the ground” to prove Zimbabwe was a civilised
and democratic country safeguarding and upholding human
rights.

The theoretical framework of his report sounded credible and
convincing, but only if you are a stranger to Zimbabwe’s history and
politics. Many self-protective and gullible diplomats, mainly those who are
not familiar with Zimbabwe or who know the truth but are dishonest, bought
into it and defended the government as if their very lives depended upon it.
The sanctions mantra was wheeled out and condemnation from the West
reverberated with equal intensity during the review.

Chinamasa
doggedly defended Zimbabwe’s human rights record, while slamming targeted
sanctions against the country which he argued had caused hardships and
violated citizens’ human rights. He also claimed Zimbabwe had amended the
constitution 19 times to improve the human rights situation, adding the
ongoing constitution-making process would address human rights
issues.

However, Chinamasa’s report was problematic. Although the
minister is a jolly good fellow, his performance was unhelpful and left many
convinced Zimbabwe is a rogue state. His delivery was unrefined and too
war-like, betraying desperate efforts to frighten critics and airbrush the
situation.

Instead of pointing out areas of progress and problems to
paint a balanced picture of the situation, Chinamasa used sanctions as a
pretext to exonerate government on human right abuses and went for the
jugular against Western countries. That made constructive dialogue
impossible and predictably the report was divisive. The session became
divided mainly on ideological lines, reflecting the polarised trends in
global politics and international relations.

That is why in the
end Zimbabwe was mainly supported unshakably by the “outposts of tyranny” —
including Iran, Cuba, North Korea and Burma. In scenes reminiscent of the
Cold War politics, Zimbabwe also got support from parts of the former
communist bloc although Russia was cautious. Syria, widely criticised for
human rights abuses, and Venezuela, also supported Zimbabwe.

In
Africa, Namibia was loyal, while other countries made measured and frank
comments. South Africa was mild but demanded an investigation into the 2008
killings. It was supported by many countries. The United States and its
allies slammed Zimbabwe for human rights abuses.

Although
government appeared to have partly whitewashed its awful record through
deception, the reality is Zimbabwe is a dungeon where people are harassed,
intimidated, brutalised, and silenced for holding different views from
Mugabe and his cronies.